9:15 a.m. New York time

I used the cash freed by the latest stop/loss sale to add another symbol the Utilities Portfolio. We’re in earnings season, which usually means dividend season. Utilities may dividends, so I’m attempting to capture those payments.

I entered a position on PNW for a $91.66 debit.

9:05 a.m. New York time

PSTI in the Genetics Portfolio triggered its 10% trailing stop loss. I exited for a $4.02 credit per share, up two cents from entry, producing a 1.8% return over 18 days, or a 36% annual rate.

10:50 a.m. New York time

Today I shall manage the stocks Growth Portfolio, in accordance with the modified plan I wrote about over the weekend in the post “Solving Problems“. There were also a couple of positions stopped out that required handling.

Three positions — LAWS, LPLA and MHO — dropped off of the Growth screen. Two positions hit their trailing 10% stop/loss levels, TLYS in Growth and TNK, which had been moved from the Momentum Portfolio to the Bench.

TX reappeared on the Growth screen.

TLYS issued guidance to traders of poor sales performance over the holidays, and is trading 28% below Friday’s close. I found no specific news on TNK, but since it’s an oil tanker company, it’s subject to the present volatility in energy.

Although I’m not scheduled to manage the new Utilities Portfolio until Thursday, I used a portion of the influx of cash to begin the build-out, purchasing AES.

The trades:

• Growth
  • Exits
    • LAWS, for a $55.91 credit, up $3.38 per share from the entry price, producing a 6.4% return over 10 days, or a 235% annual rate.
    • LPLA, a $98.02 credit, up $1.86 from entry for a 1.9% return over five days, or a +141% annual rate.
    • MHO, a 42.85% credit, a two-cent profit showing a 0.05% return over four days for a +5% annual rate.
    • TLYS, a $22.82 credit, down $2.70 from entry, producing a 21.6% loss over four days for a -1,970% annual rate. The trailing 10% stop/loss was triggered.
  • Entry
    • TX, for a $23.19 debit.
• Utilities
  • Entry
    • AES, for a $20.32 debit
• Bench
  • Exit
    • TNK, previously on the Momentum screen, for a $2.82 decline from entry, an 11.3% loss over six days for a -686% annual rate.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, January 13, 2020

Disclaimer

Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader for his own accounts. Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options or any other financial instrument. The only purpose of this blog is to provide education and entertainment.

No trader is ever 100 percent successful in his or her trades. Trading in the stock and option markets is risky and uncertain. Each trader must make trading decisions for his or her own account, and take responsibility for the consequences.

License

All content on Tim Bovee, Private Trader by Timothy K. Bovee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Based on a work at www.timbovee.com.